Archive for the ‘Managerial Techniques’ Category
Survey: Boss Behavior Causes Rampant Worrying
15January 2010
Workplace Expert, Author, Provides Career Tips for 2010 and Beyond
SANTA MONICA (January 13, 2010) — According to a new survey released today by national workplace expert Lynn Taylor, author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant –TOT (John Wiley & Sons), U.S. employees spend 19.2 hours a week (13 hours during the work week and 6.2 hours on the weekend) worrying about “what a boss says or does.”
The national study was conducted by an independent global research firm and commissioned by Taylor’s firm, Lynn Taylor Consulting, which offers workshops on how to humanize the workplace for increased productivity and profitability.
Taylor said, “The study illustrates the tremendous drain that a manager’s words and actions can have on the minds and work product of its most valued asset – people – at a time when companies can least afford the loss. Particularly during this period of high unemployment, bad boss behavior can go into overdrive – distracting employees from the work at hand.”
“Conversely, the survey suggests that greater interpersonal sensitivity can significantly boost morale and help a company thrive,” Taylor said. She advises managers to go the extra mile by showing interest in the team’s well-being. “Employees’ careers are not on hold, even if major corporate initiatives are,” she added. Taylor said that spillover anxiety on weekends of 3.1 hours a day further underscores how critical the boss/employee dynamic truly is.
“Employees should take the initiative in 2010 to build their own human relations skills,” Taylor said. She added, “Tackle issues early on with diplomacy and deploy good ‘parenting skills’ in the office – without patronizing. Use positive and negative reinforcement; provide positive role modeling; humor; and set limits to unreasonable demands with tact, showing the benefits of an alternative compromise.”
The U.S. study was based on telephone interviews conducted with 1,000 respondents 18 years of age or older. For more information, visit www.LynnTaylorConsulting.com and www.TameYourTOT.com or call 1-800-454-0083.
About Lynn Taylor Consulting
Lynn Taylor is the founder of Lynn Taylor Consulting, which advises companies on how to humanize the workplace. A nationally recognized workplace expert, dynamic speaker and acclaimed author, Taylor is the author of the book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™(TOT); How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, July 2009).
Is Your Management Career Poised for 2010 Success?
29December 2009
In Psychology Today.com, I talk about how it’s time to shore up your career and managerial skills for 2010. I’d like to address that here, and wish you much joy in your career and life in the coming year.
Many had to settle for a less-than-agreeable situation at work in 2009. But 2010 is upon us, and here’s a brief metaphor: 2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger, and the tiger is known for its strength and strategic skills in getting results. Without being a predator, you can be aggressive about achieving your career goals in the New Year.
First, decide what your heartfelt objectives are, then set your own rules. You do possess needed skills and company know-how. Your leadership skills are hard to replace. So if you like the job you’re currently in, but not the terms, now is the time to fine-tune them and dial up your satisfaction level.
Assess your weaknesses. Clarify what you want more, or less of. How can you better control office challenges by through reading, training and professional development? If fear has held you back, consider if it’s time to move on to the “great unknown.” Design your career objectives based on what would bring you the best long-term happiness. Then, pounce.
Regardless of your choice, the macro environment we’re in dictates a few requirements that will keep you at the top of your game:
• Make human relations skills your priority for 2010. Just because it’s a tech world on steroids doesn’t mean we must lose our humanity. In fact you can counter this trend by increasing yours. Even if those around you regress to virtual toddlers (Terrible Office Tyrants, or TOTs, as I call them) in the pressure cooker recession environment, ratchet up your “interpersonal intelligence” to set you apart from other managers in 2010. You will help “TOT Proof your company” in the process.
• Take the initiative. Like so many aspects of achieving success, maintaining an objective, healthy perspective and being a proactive problem solver can make all the difference. Learn how to role model calm, clear thinking, positive behavior with those around you - this is a transferable skill. The practice will be contagious to top management, too, and benefit those across the organization as well.
• Keep Your Eye on the Prize. Despite the prevalent “sky is falling” mood in corporate America, stay focused and positive on fulfilling your career dreams. When things are in flux, chances for advancement can unfold before you at any time - if you allow them to.
• Reach Out - With Precision. Regardless of whether you’re making job move, networking is essential to career success, and who you know does make a difference. However, choose your venues wisely; time is a non-renewable resource. Master social networking tools, such as LinkedIn groups, blogs and Twitter, as well as targeted trade groups in your area. Reach out to contacts who are helpful, but also be of value to others in return.
• What Are You Saying? With text messaging, e-mails and hurried memos, your writing skills can deteriorate into a terse, nonsensical mess. Recipients may spend needless time trying to decipher what you mean, or worse, take it the wrong way. Take classes in writing and public speaking so that you can better sell your ideas and put your best foot forward in business.
• The 2.0 You. No matter how much experience you have, you can always become more tech savvy. Now is the time to not only upgrade, but to learn skills outside your comfort zone. Jobs are becoming increasingly specialized over time, and so is software that supports those positions. The willingness to learn continually is an invaluable asset.
Make 2010 the year of bold decision-making that you may have been putting off. (Just be careful to sharpen your skills, not your claws, as you set your sights on your goal.
A sunny, helpful, open and positive disposition - combined with a thirst for knowledge - are the real “killer” skills that will last beyond 2010. They will last a lifetime.
Make 2010 Bad Boss-Free in Your Company
14December 2009
If you run a company or department, or are an HR professional, the thought has probably crossed your mind: how can you boost morale in 2010 after a tumultuous year? I can offer at least one solution. TOT proof your company, and make it safe for success.
Yes…aim to tame the Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior that lurks in your offices, reducing it at times to a corporate playpen, rife with sandbox politics. Toddler behavior in the boardroom (tantrums, demanding, stubborn and self-centered behavior) costs you. These are some of the 20 traits in my book that many business leaders consider required reading for their managers.
I can also address the topic at greater length in a lively speech for companies and organizations. A preview is available at various sites: LT Speaker clip site, Lynn Taylor Consulting and very soon on YouTube with keywords Lynn Taylor, Author, Speaker, TOTs. You can also contact: 1-800-454-0083.
2010 must be the year of “what’s in it for us,” not “what’s in it for me,” if our economy and businesses are to rebound. P.S. a surprising new sector can help you ratchet down tension with their years of wisdom and corporate savvy. See more on “Gen U”as I call them - Generation Unretired (featured in BusinessWeek) - and read why, at the TameYourTOT.com blog and at another website of Lynn Taylor Consulting’s: www.GenerationUworkforce.com.
Finally, let’s hope that these boss antics are not happening under your nose, but for the sake of levity during the holiday and some helpful awareness, here’s what some some employees reported recently in a national survey, not unlike that shown in an existing, similar YouTube clip!
Introducing “Gen U” – Generation Unretired
6November 2009
There’s been a lot of discussion in recent months about the “unretired” – seniors who are returning to the workforce for economic or personal reasons. I call this formidable group, “Gen U™” because they represent an astounding number of workers – a true generation with a different mindset from previous retired generations.
Now people over 65 (and even under, who thought they could retire early) are asking:
“Is this all there is?”
“Is this all I’ve got?”
Driven by a devastating financial crash, housing market or just plain restlessness, Gen U will make up almost all the growth of the U.S. labor market over the next seven years. According to AARP, eight out of 10 of the 80 million Baby Boomers will work part- or full-time rather than retire. Those 64 million unretiring Americans will constitute the biggest demographic shift in the American workforce since Baby Boomers emerged.
KEY FACTS
1) 93% of the growth in the American labor market from now until 2016 will be from workers 55 and older [because] new estimates show the average retired couple may need more than $300,000 in savings to live comfortably and pay off late-life health care costs. [Based on a recent study by the Pew Research Center].
2) Only 20% of retirees now feel very confident they have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement, down from 41% in 2007. [Employee Benefit Research Institute research].
3) Eight out of 10 baby boomers say that they plan to work at least part time after they reach official retirement age, according to the AARP, as noted earlier.
4) 36% of those 56 or older are still working – more than ever. That’s more than twice as many as in 1984 [2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics report].
5) 9.5 million Americans are considering at least a partial return to the workforce because of the economic downturn, according to a recent study by Charles Schwab.
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS
• Only about a quarter of employees 55 and older who were laid off during the past year have found jobs versus 71% of those 25 to 34.
• According to the Social Security Administration, if you are of full retirement age, the government will give you your full Social Security benefits no matter how much money you earn. (Note: If you return to work after you’re receiving Social Security benefits, but are not yet of “full retirement age” - usually 66 years of age - the government will deduct one dollar from your Social Security benefits for every two dollars you earn over $14,160 a year.)
• Baby Boomers are earning online degrees in record numbers to train for unretirement [http://www.allonlineschools.com/online-education-resource-center/adults-online-learning]
• Generational demographics: there are:
• 80 million baby boomers
• 46 million Generation Xers
• 78 million millennials (Gen Y)
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS AND GEN U
This presents an enormous opportunity for companies who wish to tap into this rich resource of skill and experience. While unemployment was at a 26-year high at 10.2 percent in October 2009, there are still a plethora of specialized skills available among Gen U. They laid the foundation for the high technology revolution and challenged the status quo of business in the 1960s. Now, interestingly, they are challenging the status quo of retirement.
Gen U’s contributions reside not only in their skills sets garnered over many years, which can be passed onto Gen X, Gen Y, and Baby Boomers. They have also learned a thing or two about people skills – something often lost on today’s frenzied, high-tech workplace.
Today’s need for a humanized workplace can be well served by such timeless, valued traditions as business etiquette and diplomacy – tenets of business practices applied more extensively in the heyday of the Gen Uers. These skills are the antithesis of what I call Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior. Suffice to say that their interpersonal skills can help, especially once companies are in a hiring mode again. Just be sure that your managers avoid using TOT management styles when tapping into Gen U for optimum results.
For Gen Uers themselves, this presents an opportunity to re-apply their knowledge, pay off expenses, “give back,” and feel a renewed sense of purpose. While a sense of community can be achieved in a yoga class or golf game, for many of the unretired I have counseled - building something directly impacts the livelihoods of others can be quite rewarding.
This is a truly Gen-U-ine shift that is a win-win for companies and the unretired in the coming months and years ahead.
Bad Boss Behavior Is Dragging Your Company Down
9October 2009
Many leading experts are emphasizing the importance of a psychologically healthy workplace for a company’s success. This may be more difficult to achieve now than it used to be.
National surveys commissioned by my company, Lynn Taylor Consulting, and conducted by an independent global research firm show that bad and childish boss behavior rose 50% in the period from 2004 to 2009.
This kind of behavior can increase stress in the workplace and lead to employees’ distraction, decreased motivation and even long-term health problems, the ultimate result being drop in productivity and profits. Readers’ conversation on my BusinessWeek blog shows it to be a matter of great concern among employees.
This study and other extensive research encouraged me to write a book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT); How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, July 2009). The book offers tips on “parenting” unruly managers who resemble tots in their Terrible Twos. Even more importantly, the book advises CEOs on how to “humanize their workplace.” Senior management has the most power to implement change that would establish an employee-friendly corporate culture with management/employee relationship based on trust, understanding, and mutual respect, creating a better workplace climate and improving overall performance.
Rather then managing an assorted collection of people united just by material interest, CEOs could be leading a tight team united by a common purpose where everyone is motivated to contribute their maximum. TOT-proofing a company would be a major step towards achieving that goal.
Restructure Job Descriptions for Growth
22September 2009
In my last blog, I talked about a dreaded corporate disease. Not swine flu, but corporate territorialism. While not as immediately threatening to health, it does affect corporate health. So I’m delving further into it today.
As managers regroup after the tornado of the deepest recession since 1921 and start to focus on reconstruction, they should set time aside to rebuild job descriptions as part of this pursuit of “anti-territorialism,” for better clarification and growth.
Some managers may not be comfortable with the impending changes that will evolve as does the economy, believing their “domain” is threatened. They may avoid any participating in new ways of thinking and/or innovative projects. Clear job descriptions should not equate to hierarchy, as I mention in my column in SmartHRmanager.com. In fact, it can and should mean the opposite. For example: there should be a free flow of information from a customer-facing employee to the top rung of the organization — creating an environment that’s “safe for success” for people at all levels.
Public comments and stories about Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs) on BusinessWeek and MSNBC attest to the fact that TOTs leave more than proverbial juice stains in corporate America. And territorialism is a big culprit.
Better delineations of responsibilities lets mid- and junior-level managers know where they stand. It helps them feel free to let go of old practices and participate in new ones that fulfill the company’s vision. New ideas and enhanced corporate profits are often linked.
P.S. You can follow me on Twitter.com, too: @workplaceexpert for my thoughts on related HR and leadership matters.
For more details on TOT-proofing your company and creating a humanized workplace that is safe for success – you can order the Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job at your local bookstore or at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com or Borders .
When Bad Bosses a.k.a. TOTs, Mark Their Spot
28August 2009
The recession isn’t over yet, but some economic sectors are sprouting again, so some of your managers if left unchecked, a.k.a. TOTs, may be taking this opportunity to act out in some specific ways.
As BusinessWeek and MSNBC point out this week, Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs)TM are in full season.
In particular, TOTs are now marking their territories like never before. Maybe they’re attempting to amass office space, sales forces, or “marking” sales territories with hoarded executive office pens! They might as well hang a sign on their doors that reads “This is MINE; go get your own stuff!” Territorialism is rampant, as mentioned in detail in my Psychology Today blog and in Forbes.com.
The problem is your staff may have just been assigned a part of your TOT’s old sales territory - and he’s not real happy about it - even though he’s been your employee’s mentor for 11 years and has diligently learned some of his best sales techniques. Now your Terrible Office Tyrant manager is calling on his former clients, telling them that your staff member is a “rookie” and they should contact him because he’s the “real deal.”
What makes your Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) display these territorial claims in the office?
It stands to reason that the same skills your TOT used to survive childhood and/or a former job would serve him well in the hand-to-hand combat of corporate life, as explained in Psychology Today entitled Why Bosses Act Like Toddlers. His goal is to get stuff - and keep it. Your goal is to have him let go of it and delegate.
To avert conflicts, make sure that your TOT knows how much you value his mentoring of more junior staff. Assure him that you value managers whose staff is strong.
Once your TOT realizes that you’re not a divisive leader, and that a solid staff is an asset that helps the company grow, you’ll mitigate the power grab syndrome. In Tame Your Terrible Office TyrantTM (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job, there are many more suggestions on how to handle difficult managers in your ranks.
Territorialism is just one of 20 Terrible Office Tyrant behaviors outlined in my book, by chapter. I am often asked to describe all of them. See if you can find one, two or more of these bad behaviors in your office in a given day or week:
BRATTY
These are the more aggressive traits that are typically activated when your TOT is operating under stress, has been taught that this behavior will achieve self-serving results, or your boss is fearful of an impending outcome:
1. Bragging
2. Bullying
3. Demanding
4. Ignoring
5. Impulsiveness
6. Lying
7. Self-Centeredness
8. Stubbornness
9. Tantrums
10. Territorialism
LITTLE LOST LAMBS
These traits are often born out of incompetence or general fear of inadequacy. While they seem benign, these boss behaviors can be just as irritating - and equally as unproductive in the workplace.
11. Whining
12. Endless Questioning
13. Fantasy World
14. Fickleness
15. Helplessness
16. Irrational Fears
17. Forgetfulness
18. Mood Swings
19. Neediness
20. Short Attention Spans
For more details on TOT-proofing your company and creating a humanized workplace that is safe for success (meaning decreasing territorialism), you can order the book at Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com or Borders.
Don’t Allow Bad Bosses to Rule the Roost
14August 2009
When workplace frustrations seem overwhelming because of cranky, bad or childish boss actions, a.k.a., a Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior in your company, you can stop the dynamic for the sake of your business. Specifically, you can remind managers how bad timing can make them act poorly or impulsively, to the detriment of staff morale.
As TOT readers know, and as explained in Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job, managing unruly TOTs and toddlers often requires the same principles—and one is good timing.
As national career columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy mentions in her article Dealing with a bad boss isn’t easy for hamptonroads.com, and VIVMag.com states, both bad bosses and children behave in strikingly similar ways. Also visit the Boston Globe’s very pictorial pages of TOT behaviors at Boston.com (in fact, you can go ahead and vote and view results).
Toddlers throw tantrums, scream “No!” and can be stubbornly demanding. Bad bosses can have sudden angry outbursts, and say “No!” without any apparent reason. Knowing how to tame your TOT managers will give you control and help you increase productivity. So does role modeling CALM to your managers, as mentioned in my interview with career luminary Tory Johnson on GMA/ABC-News for “The Job Club.”
As a young mother, I learned that it was highly unwise to take my two tykes down the candy isle when it was feeding time. Taking bosses down the cubicle aisle at 11:30 a.m. while trying to get project approval? - also a bad idea. So what does that mean for you as their fearless leader? Encourage managers to speak up if the timing IS bad rather than lash out, for one. Also, remind them of the old saying “count to ten,” before letting off steam. After all, isn’t it loyalty and dedication we want most from our team?
To keep the sanity of your staff, plan ahead. When you schedule an afternoon meeting, make sure there are high protein snacks available. They help regulate blood sugar. If you go for the sugary snacks, then you are just adding to the blood spiking problem, which will result in a later crash and fatigue. It can bring out Demanding, Fearful and other TOT inclinations - meaning, the worst in anyone. See my regular blogs on Psychology Today, including one on Demanding bosses. Try to plan meetings for earlier in the day when everyone is fresh and mental activity is up and running. Everyone will be healthier for it.
With your good role modeling and reminders to any Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behaviors you spot, you’ll prevent TOT attacks and keep the peace. For more details on timing and TOTs, order the book at Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com or Borders.
P.S. I thoroughly enjoyed my interview today with Terri Trespicio, the host of SIRIUS Radio “Martha Stewart Whole Living.” Visit TameYourTOT.com to listen. She is a real pro and knew precisely what the book and topic was about; a lot of fun! Great caller questions, too.
“So, What’s Your Book About?”
27June 2009
In my daily travels, after people ask me the name of my forthcoming book, their first reaction is usually laughter. They immediately understand that Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT) is a self-help guide to make the workplace more manageable, offering some laughs along the way. Mission accomplished! But the follow-up comments are always fascinating. “I could have written several anecdotes for your book!” “Gosh, [to a nearby subordinate], I’m not a TOT, am I?!” The dutiful subordinate blushes and replies: “Ha. Of course not!” “You must be the Dr. Spock of the workplace.” “Yeah, I cringed when I heard how some (former) managers spoke to employees!” When people want to know more, and ask, “What’s it really about?” – I usually say something to the effect of: “It helps you define your career rather than letting it define you.” I quickly describe the “TOT™” and toddler parallel of out-of-control office behavior. Then I explain how mastering the “parental” techniques of dealing with the similar traits is invaluable and, transferable –and that it will help them in their careers –maybe even in life. But one of the cornerstones of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™(TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job is about shared responsibility. When I first realized the similarities between children and bosses with too much power, I knew that by offering that perspective to employees, it would help them manage up. But the other side of the coin was that it would also help managers do their part from an employer’s’ perspective – it would help them humanize the workplace. A win-win, collaborative proposition. No matter your level in an organization, having the ability to master relationships with those around you is a legitimate, personal growth commitment. Not surprisingly, it also the secret to being a great leader. CEOs and senior business leaders can “TOT-proof their companies” and make their environment safe for success. More than anything else, my book makes it crystal clear that it’s incumbent upon everyone to set limits to bad office behavior and reinforce the good. Just as a good parent can reward good behavior and rebuke the bad, the same techniques work 9 to 5. So, what’s my book about? It’s a customizable guide to assist you in taking command of your own personal career currency. In the process, you can help your boss and fellow employees humanize your workplace.
Knocking Down Doors – Literally!
26May 2009
Keeping the lines of communication open in the workplace is critical – both metaphorically and literally, as illustrated by a national independent workplace study commissioned by Lynn Taylor Consulting, and released in March. Interestingly, in April, AOL’s new CEO, Tim Armstrong, took a significant symbolic step consistent with this study which made some headlines. He ordered that the locked glass doors which sealed off staffers from the executive suite in the company’s New York headquarters be removed. In doing so, he immediately earned the praise and respect of employees.
Armstrong’s gesture is also consistent with the theme of this blog and my upcoming book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™(TOT). To employees, closed doors often suggest (intentionally or not) an unwillingness to communicate – or an exclusionary mindset. Especially during times of downsizing, they can instill unnecessary anxiety, hinder the free flow of information and impede interaction. In the end, they shut out more than people, but also morale and productivity.
Admittedly, AOL will be taking many other steps to bolster itself in the marketplace. But this micro version of taking down an “executive Berlin wall” was a great first step in bridging the communications gap.
Employees and employers alike can and should talk up this simple yet memorable move, because if nothing else, it says to a workforce: “we are a team,” as opposed to: “stay away.” Occasional privacy is understandable, but a non-stop blockade isn’t. Maybe in the latter case, an inexpensive alternative is to hand out free doorstops.
